At that same moment, Arthur had just begun to wake.
The echo of Cellis's voice still lingered faintly in his memory.
"Arthur! Are you here?"
He dressed quickly and stepped out into the corridor.
Cellis was nowhere to be seen.
Even inside the castle he remained cautious. The fortress belonged to allies, but it was still unfamiliar ground. His gaze lingered briefly on doorways and intersections as he moved through the corridors.
With no sign of her, he had little choice but to search.
Arthur paused for a moment to think. Cellis would not have gone toward the den—they had been warned clearly by Quinn not to approach it.
That left the opposite direction.
He turned and walked toward the far end of the hall, where Herold's room had been assigned. When he reached the door, he knocked.
There was no response.
Arthur frowned.
Concern growing, he expanded his senses slightly and soon located Herold inside the room—still asleep.
Now that Cellis was nowhere to be found, waking him became necessary.
Arthur created some light of mana, converging it along with what remained from feeding the knightmane pup, converting it into fire mana before guiding it through the wooden door.
He pushed the mana forward unevenly, while ensuring the wood itself would not burn. The fire mana began gradually transforming as it passed through the door. Traces of water and wind mana formed naturally as the energy stabilized, drifting slowly toward Herold.
When the mana reached him, a faint cool sensation brushed across his skin.
Herold merely shifted in his sleep, pulling the blanket higher.
Arthur sighed.
He would need a louder method.
Expanding his creation range slightly, he pushed it through the wooden surface of the door and extended it just inside the room, above the floor behind it.
There, he began forming a metal plate.
Not too thin nor too small—so it would not bend silently.
Not too thick nor too big—so it would form before hitting the ground .
To speed the process, he add upon his weight faster as it formed.
A moment later—
Clang!
The metal plate struck the floor with a sharp crash.
Inside the room, Herold jolted awake.
Arthur knocked again.
"Herold. Are you there? Celle is nowhere to be found."
The door opened abruptly.
Herold stood there, half‑awake but already alarmed, hurriedly pulling on his academy emblem as if preparing to leave immediately. He seemed to ignore the fallen metal plate entirely.
"Have you checked her room?" he asked quickly.
Arthur shook his head.
Neither Arthur nor Cellis had fully realized it, but Cellis's position within the castle carried more significance than either of them had considered
>>>
"I checked."
Arthur answered quickly.
In truth, he had not checked her room at all, nor did he feel the need to. Cellis had knocked on his door only moments earlier. If she had returned there afterward, it would have been strange.
"Any other clues?" Herold asked.
"She knocked on my door," Arthur replied.
Herold's attention sharpened slightly.
"When did she?"
"Just recently," Arthur said. "Not long ago."
Herold stepped into the corridor, briefly looking down both directions of the hall. The guest corridor remained quiet, the distant presence of knightmanes stationed along the castle passages offering silent reassurance.
"She couldn't have gone far," Herold said.
He pointed down the corridor stretching away from the guest rooms.
"Let's split up. She should still be somewhere on this floor."
Arthur watched as Herold gestured toward two different paths.
"You go straight," Herold said, indicating the longer hallway that continued away from the sculpture section.
Then he motioned toward the turning passage beside them.
"I'll take the turn toward the sculptures."
Arthur remained silent as Herold added one more explanation.
"This way you won't get lost. The paths intersect later, and there aren't any dead ends."
Arthur nodded once.
The plan was simple enough.
Without wasting any more time, the two separated and moved down their respective corridors, each searching the quiet halls of the castle for any sign of Cellis
>>>
Arthur moved steadily through the corridor, his steps quiet against the stone floor.
The castle halls were still calm at this hour. Torchlight flickered along the walls, casting wavering shadows across the stone arches and branching hallways. Though the fortress belonged to allies, Arthur remained cautious. His senses drifted outward slightly, enough to remain aware of movement nearby.
Herold had taken the path toward the sculpture section.
That left Arthur with the longer corridor.
At first the passage seemed simple enough— lined with guest rooms and occasional alcoves— but as Arthur continued forward, the castle's structure slowly grew more complex.
Side corridors branched away at uneven intervals. Some curved into darker sections of the residence while others ended in stairwells.
One staircase spiraled upward toward the upper residential floors.
Another descended toward the lower levels of the castle.
Arthur slowed near the junction.
If Cellis had wandered into either stairwell, finding her would become far more difficult.
The castle was beginning to feel less like a residence and more like a maze built across several layers.
Arthur continued onward.
>>>
Earlier, Cellis had believed she was heading back toward the guest wing.
After turning through several corridors, she entered a long gallery lined with tall windows. Pale morning light filtered through the glass, illuminating rows of paintings and carved wall panels.
It was quieter here.
Almost too quiet.
Cellis slowed slightly as she walked along the gallery.
Ahead of her, a familiar figure stepped out from another corridor.
For a brief moment she felt relieved.
"Arthur?" she called.
The man paused.
When he turned, however, it was not Arthur.
It was Quinn.
The lord regarded her with mild surprise before glancing down the gallery.
"You're quite far from the guest rooms," he said.
Cellis looked a little embarrassed.
"I thought I saw Arthur," she admitted.
Quinn stepped closer, resting one hand briefly against the stone railing that bordered the gallery's outer side. From there the corridor overlooked a lower hall several floors below.
"This section of the residence connects several wings," he said calmly. "Even the castle staff occasionally take the wrong turn here."
Cellis looked down at the open space beneath the gallery.
Multiple corridors connected to the lower floor.
Additional staircases climbed upward toward the higher residence levels.
"So I'm not the only one who gets lost?" she asked.
Quinn allowed a faint smile.
"Not even close."
For a few moments they remained there in the gallery, speaking quietly.
Cellis explained she had been trying to find Arthur earlier that morning.
Quinn listened before gesturing back toward the corridor she had come from.
"The guest wing should be that way," he said. "But the halls loop around several sections. If you reach the central stair chamber, you've gone too far."
Cellis nodded.
"Thank you."
They began walking together along the gallery corridor while continuing their conversation.
The quiet echo of their footsteps followed them along the stone floor.
At the far end of the gallery the passage split again—one path descending toward the lower floors, the other curving back toward the residential corridors.
Quinn slowed there."I'll be heading this way," he said, indicating the descending stair.
Cellis looked back down the corridor she intended to follow.
"I think I'll try that direction."
"Then you should reach the guest section eventually," Quinn said.
They parted there.
Cellis continued walking.
Unfortunately, the corridor curved sooner than she expected.
Another passage intersected it.
Then another.
Before long the halls began repeating themselves again.
Arches.
Stone columns.
Doorways that looked nearly identical to the last.
By the time she reached a broad balcony corridor overlooking the lower residence floors, Cellis had already lost any clear sense of direction.
The castle had quietly become a maze around her.
>>>
Meanwhile, Herold moved quickly through the sculpture hall.
The statues gradually gave way to a broader section of the residence where the corridors widened and staircases connected multiple levels.
Two stairwells stood ahead.
One climbed toward the upper balconies.
The other descended into the lower floors.
Herold slowed.
If Cellis had taken either path, the search would become more complicated.
Before deciding, he called out.
"Cellis!"
His voice echoed upward through the open halls.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then—
"Herold?"
Herold looked up.
On the balcony corridor above, Cellis stepped forward and leaned slightly against the railing.
Relief crossed her face when she spotted him.
"I'm here!"
Herold exhaled.
"Stay there," he said. "I'm coming up."
He climbed the staircase quickly.
When he reached the upper floor, Cellis straightened slightly.
"You went quite far," he said.
Cellis gave a small, embarrassed shrug.
"I spoke with Quinn in the gallery earlier. I thought I knew the way back afterward."
Herold glanced down the surrounding corridors.
"This place twists around itself," he said.
"I noticed."
Herold folded his arms briefly.
"Arthur took the main corridor. If he kept going, he'll reach the central stair chamber."
Cellis looked down the balcony hall.
"Should we head there?"
"Better than wandering," Herold replied.
They began walking together along the upper corridor.
>>>
Arthur eventually reached the end of the long hallway.
The passage opened into a wide vertical chamber where several staircases connected the surrounding residence floors.
Balconies crossed the upper levels.
Corridors branched away in multiple directions.
Arthur paused briefly.
The structure resembled a maze stacked on top of itself.
Footsteps echoed faintly from the balcony above.
Arthur looked up.
Two figures appeared along the upper railing.
Herold stepped forward first.
Cellis stood beside him.
Arthur raised an eyebrow slightly.
"So that's where you ended up."
Cellis exhaled in relief.
"I got lost."
Herold rested a hand lightly against the railing.
Arthur allowed himself a faint smile.
At least the search was over.
For now.
But standing beneath the layered corridors and staircases of the residence, it was clear the castle still held far more paths than any of them had yet explored.